Hardware, Membership and Navigation Tips

I'm using a Public Access Terminal or a friends computer
to access Chebucto Community Net. What are the minimum hardware
requirements for me to access Chebucto Community Net with my own
equipment from my home?

You have two options for acquiring your own hardware.

A new or used computer which may not cost you as much as
you might think. Many people are selling XT or 286AT computers
because they do not support graphics as fast as the 386/486/Pentium
chips now available. So there are computers available and they can be
purchased for as little as $150. You would also require an internal
or external modem to enable you to connect with the Chebucto Community
Net modem bank and there are 2400 speed modems available for less than $50.

A dumb terminal (dumb because it has no calculating or
processing power) when hooked into an external modem will do an excellent
job of connecting with Chebucto Community Net. Dumb terminals, if you
are lucky, can cost as little as $10.

Why should I join the Society that operates Chebucto Community Net?

Metro Community Access Network Society which operates Chebucto Community
Net is a not-for-profit society that depends on its members and their generosity
for a major part of its support. Not all members are able to make cash
donations, but donate their time instead to support this award winning
community net. As a minimum, if you are a user of this excellent facility,
you should pay the membership fee which is good for one year.

To join, simply send a cheque made payable to Chebucto Community Net or
to Metro*CAN Society for the appropriate amount. Adult membership
is $20/year, Family membership is $40/year, and membership for youth
under 18 and those who are unwaged is $12/year. Be sure to
write your user/login name on the reverse of the cheque and mail
it to:Metro*CAN Societyc/o Dept. of Mathematics,
Statistics and Computer ScienceDalhousie
UniversityHalifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5

The one hour sure goes quickly when I'm on Chebucto Community Net!
I seem to spend most of my time trying to find my way around. Do
you have any suggestions on how not to get lost?

A couple of tools are available to help you.

Try the shortcut
keys which can be found by pressing the 'g' key (without the quotes).
You will be prompted with
Go to (use '?' for list):
at the bottom left corner of your screen. Type '?' to see a list of shortcut
commands.

The bookmark keys 'a' and 'v' will allow you to mark in a special file
a place that you might want to return to again. When you are at a page that
you would like to return to, type the 'a' key and you will be prompted with
Save D)ocument or L)ink to bookmark file or C)ancel? (d,l,c):
Choose l ( letter l - not number 1) and then choose 'v' to see that the link
has indeed been added to you bookmark file. The link will still be in your
bookmark file when you login next time.